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As the holidays approach we need projects that are easy to take with us and pick up (and put down) easily. This season I’m working on my Sunburst Blocks. I’ve already made one quilt, but I enjoyed making that quilt so much I’m going to attempt a bed quilt with lots of wonderful hand quilting and trapunto in the background. Just like the “Twelve Days of Christmas” I’m going to attempt to make one block per day.

Here is what I have so far…

My first nine blocks. I’m using these colors.

I’m using the “sequential” piecing method to make these fast! Check it out on my website under “TIPS”. It is the same way I pieced the little sunflowers only bigger pieces means faster sewing!

Many of you contact me directly asking which stamps will connect to each other. It is listed with the stamps, but can be confusing at first glance. As you know I try very hard to leverage the stamps you have so you can use them in many different ways. So, which stamps do you own and how can you use them more than one way? A friend recommended I make “quilt recipes”. Thought I’d give it a try using one of my most popular stamps, the Sawtooth Star set of stamps.

My most popular set of stamps.

All of the stamp sets come with an enclosed pattern and instructions. The pattern enclosed in this stamp set is the Star Toss.

Star Toss quilt made with the Sawtooth Star stamps.

Did you know this picture is the MOST re-pinned on my Pinterest board? It certainly is one of my favorites!

Last week I premiered a brand new stamp at Jo Morton’s “Sewing at the Orchard” retreat. It was a hit! I’ve been playing around with this design for a year. I even made 2 prototypes, but finally settled on this one.

One block of the new Thistle

I’m in love with piecing these! They go together so easy and connect to the Carpenter’s star “B” and “C”, so you get dual use out of that classic set. (And it brings the price of this set lower.) Having said that, you will NEED the Carpenter’s Star stamp set to complete this block. (Order it here if you don’t have it.)

Here are the pieces in the set:

Template stamps for the Thistle.

I LOVE this quilt and already have plans to use these stamps next year in a mystery quilt.

It has been a while since I blogged about a technique and many of you are new followers, so after viewing this question on the popular “Panama Pyramids” Stitching group on Face Book, I figured it was time to blog about the way I’m stitching this wildly popular piecing phenomena that is sweeping the quilting world by storm this summer.

To start I did stamp out my pieces using the triangle in the Sugar Loaf stamp set and the new Large Pyramid that I made to coordinate with the triangle.

The 2 triangles I used.

Most of you know that I plan the grain line when I develop my stamps. The lengthwise grain ALWAYS is aligned with the finger holds on the stamps.

The lengthwise grain is parallel to the selvage edge. That is where your finger holds on the wood should be positioned.

You will notice that when the pyramids are cut out, you will have a “flat top” to help you determine the grain line.

First set laid out and ready to sew! Notice the positions.

Those of you that have taken classes with me, KNOW I love to sequentially piece. That means sewing from piece to piece without stopping, except for back stitches! Here is a close up of the drawing that is included in the Large Sugar Loaf pyramid stamp.

This drawing is for a right handed person, a leftie would change the directions of the arrows.

Okay, got your single thickness quilting thread ready on your Richard Hemming sharp? Place a small knot at the end. Grab the first 2 adjacent pieces. (It really doesn’t matter where you start.)

Place a pin in the right corner, matching up the corner underneath. Place your needle in the right corner, matching up the corner underneath. Take a backstitch.

Sew up to the pin taking small stitches. When you reach the pin, take a backstitch and leave the needle “parked”.

Open your work to see your orientation.

Pick up the top triangle and place it right sides together. Drag your needle through to the corner of the top triangle.

Take a stitch, then a backstitch at this corner.

Place a pin at the left corner and stitch up to the pin. Take a backstitch and then pick up the last triangle and stitch it in place.

When you are finished, your pieced pyramid should look like this.

DO NOT PRESS!!!! I KNOW YOU WANT TO, BUT YOU CAN STRETCH OUT THE BIAS EDGES ON 2 SIDES.

Make 2 more pieced pyramids the same way and lay out with your large pyramid.

Front view.

When you turn them over, you will see I thought of everything! A reference line on the large triangle to make stitching the small triangles easy!

Back view.

Can you see you can stitch this sequentially, too? The reference mark will help to get perfect points.

Instead of placing your pin in the far left corner, place it at the reference mark before the seam.

Take a backstitch at the seam, pop up the seams, park your needle in the seam. Place a pin at the far left corner. Drag your needle through the seams to the other side, backstitch and continue stitching.

Popping up the seam allowances.

When you are done, your block should look like this…

Finished block.

Pressing instructions are in the pattern with the large Sugar Loaf triangle. I’ve also included the very large setting triangle in the pattern. You will need to make a template for this template as there is no way you can make a stamp 6″ tall. Your hands aren’t large enough to grab the wood.

You’ll be amazed how fast these stitch up! I made 6 of them the other day in less than 3 hours.

Some of my finished pyramids.

When I stamped out my pyramids from my scrap bag, I place all the pieces for one pieced block on a thread, backstitch between the blocks, and add another block. The “string” looks like this…

A few blocks on a “thread.”

Pull off one block and you are ready to sew!

Let’s make another one! Piecing these is like eating peanuts, you can’t stop at just one!

Sometimes it is hard to let go and discontinue any of my favorite stamps, but inventory is getting to be a nightmare especially with all my NEW stamps coming out. I base most of my new stamps on requests from YOU, my readers, and you haven’t steered my wrong!

So to give you time to think about and shop for these items, these sets will be available until July 31. You’ll have a month to order if these are your favorites, too.

Feathered Star Stamp Set

This stamp set was only supposed to be available for a limited time and you responded! Now it is going away the end of July. You can order here at:

The second stamp got my attention from several of you that are making “Panama Pyramids,” a design by Linda Collins and published in Quiltmania #94. My friend, Jo Morton is participating in a “Sew-Along” this summer with this exquisite antique quilt as the model. (You can see everyone’s progress on Face Book on Linda’s group page “Panama Pyramids Sew-along 2016” Lots of people are making them by machine, but several of you contacted me and asked for stamps for the project. Well, your wish is my command… I designed and tested a large pyramid that will connect with the triangle in the “Sugar Loaf” set of stamps. You will need the Sugar Loaf set of stamps.

Stamp features a reference mark to line up the small triangles perfectly!

I included detailed instructions with the Sugar Loaf Large Pyramid that discusses grain line. My stamp is notched at the top and is placed parallel to the grain along the finger holds for no stretch.

After you make these units, you set them together with an even larger setting triangle. Because the setting triangle is so large, you cannot make it into a template stamp. So I included the pattern for the setting triangle in the pattern and it has reference marks, too!

I’ve also included pressing instructions to give you the PERFECT triangles that will be easy to set into your quilt.